Apparatus for filling containers



Sept. 26, 1939. F. A -FOUSER 2,174,384

APPARATUS FOR FILLING CONTAINERS Filed 001;. 2, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet lJig l INVENTOR F A Fouszli F. A. FOUSER APPARATUS FOR FILLING CONTQINERSSept. 26, 1939.

Filed Oct. 2, lgse 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR FRED A. FbuSER MMi-MPatented Sept. 26, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FORFILLING CONTAINERS Fred A. Fouser, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor, by mesneassignments, to McKenna Brass and Manufacturing Corporation,Millersburg, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 2,1936, Serial No. 103,780

6 Claims. (01. 22626) This invention relates, in general, tocontainerdifficulty has been experienced in keeping this fillingapparatus and is herein particularly delevel constant and elaborateapparatus has been scribed as relating to filling machines for theemployed therefor, which was not entirely suitbottling of liquids underpressure. able due to the constantly varying beer pressure.

In modern filling machines for bottling liquids By the use of apparatusembodying my inven- 5 under pressure, such as is the case where beertion, it is possible to maintain the counter-presand carbonatedbeverages are bottled, provision sure in the filling tank at the samepressure as is made for supplying an initial pressure, termed the totalpressure on the entering beer and to counter-pressure, within the bottleprior to 1111- keep the level of the beer in the container at a 1 0 ingwith the beverage, and such pressure is mainvery closely controlledpredetermined height.

tained throughout the filling operation. Many The bottles can beuniformly filled to an exact beverages contain certain gases in solutionthereheight and foaming of the beer introduced into in and must be keptunder pressure to maintain the bottle is entirely obviated. suchsolution while being bottled to prevent In the accompanying drawings,illustrating the 1 5 foaming and deterioration of the beverage. presentpreferred embodiment of my invention While the invention will bedescribed as applied as applied to beer bottle-filling apparatus and into the filling of beer bottles, it is to be understood which likereference characters refer to correthat it is not limited to such, butmay be applied sponding parts in the several forms: to the filling ofcontainers with other liquids. Figure 1 is a View partly in elevationand partly 2 0 Under certain conditions encountered in filling insection of a filling and bottling machine embeverage bottles, thebeverage is supplied under bodying my invention, certain parts beingarbivarying pressure. For example, beer is usually trarily located forpurposes of illustration;

stored in tanks of considerable depth and a con- Figure 2 is a sectionalview of the upper rightstant gas pressure of, say 15 to 20 pounds perhand portion of the machine; and square inch, is maintained on the beersurface Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views along the to prevent thegases in solution from coming out lines IIIIII and IV-IV, respective y,of

of solution. As the beer is supplied to a. filling ure 2, but to anenlarged scale.

machine from the storage tank, the total pres- In t e d a 2 designates afilling machine sure on the beer flowing into the filling tank deforfilling bottles with beer under pressure and @0 pends on the gaspressure in the storage tank 3 is a crowning unit which may be soclosely asplus the hydrostatic pressure, and therefore, varsociated withthe filling machine as t in fact.

ies with the varying height of the beer in the consti e a n l app r the1 s m tank. For satisfactory operation of the filling c e a the crowningunit y be widely sepaapparatus, it is necessary that the pressure on therated.

.535 gas above the beer in the filling tank be kept at The filler 2consists of a tank or chamber 4 to a pressure corresponding to'the totalpressure on the upper Sides of Which a plurality of fi n the beer.Unless the pressure of the beer and Valves 5 are connected. Associatedwith each the counter-pressure in the filling tank are kept Valve is abottle lift 6, which raises the bottle equal, the bottle-fillingapparatus will not funcnto filling position in t ct With t filling 40tion properly, foaming will result and the bot- ValVe at a p ede d pointin the operation 40 tles will not be filled to a uniform level. It iscycle and then lowers it. The bottle lifts may necessary that the emptybottle, just before fillbe actuated in any usual manner, such as bysuiting, be put under a pressure corresponding to the able cams or byair pressure mechanism. As the beer in the filling tank, and it iscustomary to means for Operating the ifts are Well known in provide thispressure from the gas above the the art and form no part of myinvention, such 45 beer in the filling tank. As the beer flows into pa to e apparatus need not be further dethe bottle, the gas under pressurein the bottle scribedmust be discharged therefrom and it is advis- Formaintain n coun r-pres re in th fil able for the sake of economy that itbe disa a under Pressure is pp thlflugh charged back into the fillingtank. Foaming and controlled by pressure regulator l and the 50 tends tointerfere with the discharge of the gases double diaphragm valve 8. Thepressure regufrom the bottle and to cause uneven filling. lator valve 1is of the type which is the subject For filling to a uniform height, itis essential matter of United States Patent No. 2,001,269, that thelevel of the beer in the filling tank be issued May 14, 1935, to Evan L.Moberg. This maintained substantially constant. Heretoiore, valve servesto control the pressure of the air 55 passing therethrough, which air issupplied under variable pressure, which may be from to 60 pounds or moreor less per square inch, through connection 9. The pressure of the airwhich is supplied from valve I to double diaphragm valve 8 through pipeI0 is equal to the total pressure on the beer, since diaphragm II ofvalve l is connected by means of pipe I2 to the beer supply pipe I3.Beer from pipe I3 passes through valve I4 and pipe I5 into the bottom ofthe filling tank 4. The valve I, the operation of which is fully setforth in said United States Patent No. 2,001,209, controls the varyingair pressure supplied through connection 9 so that the pressure enteringthe double diaphragm valve 8 through pipe I0 very closely approximatesthe pressure or" the entering beer supply which is exerted againstdiaphragm through pipe I2.

The double diaphragm valve 8 consists of an air passage I6, the innerend of which forms a valve seat for valve II, which is operated bymovement of yoke member IS, the upper part of which is connected todiaphragm I9 and the lower end of which is connected to diaphragm 25,the diaphragm 20 being larger in area than diaphragm I9. Betweendiaphragms I9 and 20 is an annular space 2|, which is connected by meansof port 22 through pipe 23 to passage 24, which leads through thefilling tank head or cover 25 to the filling tank 4. The space 26 belowthe diaphragm 20 is connected through T 28a and pipe 28 to passage 29 inthe cover 25. The T 28a has associated therewith a needle valve 21 formaintaining a connection or leak to the atmosphere. The space |9a abovediaphragm I9 is open to the atmosphere.

The filling valve 5 consists of a body member 30, a filling tube 3|,secured thereto, and a sleeve member 32 slidably mounted on tube 3|. Thebody member has a passage 33 therein connecting to the interior of thetube 3|, and recesses 34, 35 and 36. Recess 34 has associated with it anoutwardly dished head 31 with a recess 38 therein. Between the dishedhead 3'I and the body member 30, a flexible diaphragm 39 is secured.This diaphragm separates recesses 34 and 38. Recess 34 is connected topassage 33 by the opening 60. Recess 35 is closed by a cap member havingtherein a passage 42 in which is received a T-shaped. valve lifter 43,which is slidably mounted on tube 3|. The upper part of the lifter isreceived in recess 36 and the other end of the lifter extends along tube3| and projects slightly beyond the end of member 4!. Recess 36communicates with recess 35 through a passage controlled by valve 44 andwith recess 38 by means of the passage 45. Valve 44 is so arranged thatit can be operated by the movement of valve lifter 43. A passage 45extends from recess 35 through the body member 30.

Slidably mounted on tube 3| is a sleeve the lower end of which has abell mouth 4?; and sealing gaskets 48 and 49 of rubber or other suitablematerial are so arranged on sleeve 32 that when a raised bottle B is inthe filling position in the bell mouth, the sleeve is sealed against thetop of the bottle and against the bottom of member 4|. The lifter 43 andsleeve 32 are fitted to tube 3| so that air or gas may pass between thetube and lifter 43 and sleeve 32. It will be observed that there is nopacking between the filling tube and the other portion of the valve, andthis feature does away with a source of trouble and insures trouble-freeoperation.

In order to prevent foaming when a bottle is being filled, the fillingtube 3| must extend close to the bottom of the bottle. To compensate forbottles of dilferent heights, I provide sleeves 32 of varying lengths.The appropriate length of sleeve is readily attached when a change inbottle heights is being made.

Axially positioned within tube 3| is a rod 59, the upper end of the rodbeing fastened to diaphragm 39 and the lower end to the tube closingvalve 5|, which closes the lower end of the filling tube 3|. The lengthof this rod is such that when diaphragm 39 is in the position shown inFigure 2, the valve is open and upon suitable movement of the diaphragm,as will hereinafter be described, the rod 50 is lifted, thus closing thedischarge end of tube 3| by the seating of valve 5|. A syphon 52 extendsfrom passage 33 toward the bottom of the tank to a position where itsopen end will be always below the desired level of the beer in the tank.The passage 46 also opens into the upper end of the tank when the valveis in position attached to the upper side wall of tank 4.

The tank cover 25 has a passage 24 therethrough which communicates withthe double diaphragm valve 8. There is also a passage 53 through thetank cover in which is slidably received a tube 54, to the lower end ofwhich the float 55 is attached and to the upper end of which a valve 56is secured. Perforations are made in tube 54, the float 55 and adjacentthe valve 56. In the upper end of the tank cover and axially disposedwith reference to tube 54 is an adjusting member 51 through which anaxial passage 58 extends. By adjusting the position of member 51, theoperative position of float 55 is adjusted and consequently, the beerlevel in tank 4. A cap 59 surrounds the upper end of the tank cover sothat there is an annular space which connects with passage 58 and withpassage 29, which leads to the double diaphragm valve 8.

Operation The air pressure supply is established through connection 9and pressure regulator valve 1. Inasmuch as valve I is also connected bymeans of pipe I2 to the beer supply, the pressure of the beer is exertedagainst the diaphragm of valve I. Air under the same pressure as that ofthe beer supply is passed through regulator I, through pipe I9 into thevalve 3, through passage I5, valve i! into the annular space 2 I, thencethrough port 22, pipe 23 and passage 24 to the tank 4. A pressure isbuilt up in tank 4, which is less than the pressure of the incoming air,due to the fact that the air can bleed out through the filling valves.The float 55 is adjusted so that when the beer reaches the desired levelin the tank, valve 56 will close passage 58. Valve I4 is then opened sothat beer under pressure is supplied from pipe I3 through pipe I5 to thetank 4.

When the level of the beer in tank 4 reaches the desired height, float55 will rise and operate valve 55 to shut 01f the escape of air throughpassage 58 and the lower end of syphon tube 52 will be closed by thebeer. Beer or air under pressure will flow through tube 52, passage 33,passage 40 and against diaphragm 39, thereby lifting the rod 50 andvalve 5| and closing the exit of tube 3 I. Thereupon, the air pressurebuilt up in tank 4 will be equal to the pressure of the beer and, due tothe equilibrium, the beer level will remain stationary at thepredetermined level. In order to fill tube 52, passage 33 and fillingtube 3| with beer, it may be necessary, before a bottle is placed infilling position, to manually open valve 5|, which can be done bypulling down on it so that the'beer will fiow into and fill tube Thevalve is then allowed to close itself, which it will do by reason of thepressure of the beer against diaphragm 39.

A bottle to be filled is raised by its lift, the bell mouth centers thebottle and the filling tube 3| enters the bottle. The bottle continuesto rise until the top of sleeve 32 contacts and seals against member 4|.The bottle is sealed by contact with sealing member 49. During the lastapproximately one-sixteenth inch of the upward movement of the bottle,the valve lifter 43 is raised which, in turn, raises valve 44 andpermits air under pressure from tank 4 to enter the bottle throughpassage 46, recess 35, recess 36 and the space between the outside ofthe tube 3|, the sleeve 32 and lifter 43. The pressure also passesthrough port 45 to recess 38, where it acts on the top of the diaphragm39. When the pressure of the air on top of this diaphragm equals thepressure of the beer underneath the diaphragm, the diaphragm will dropand with it rod 58 and valve 5|, thus permitting the beer to flow intothe bottle. As the beer fiows into the bottle, air from the bottlepasses back to the tank through the same passages through which itentered. The bottle continues to fill by syphon action until the levelof the beer in the bottle is the same as that of the beer in the tank 4.

After the bottle is filled, it is lowered by appropriate mechanism. Asthe bottle is slightly lowered, valve 44 closes, thus cutting oficommunication between the bottle and tank 4, contact between sleeve 32and member 4| is broken and the air pressure in recess 38 and in theupper part of the port is dissipated and the diaphragm 39 is forcedupward by the pressure of beer exerted against its under side, and valve5| is closed.

As each bottle is filled, beer is taken from the tank and air is addedthereto as it is forced from the bottle, and as a result, the float 55will lower and open the valve 56 at top of the fioat rod 54. Thispermits air to pass through tube 54, passage 53, port 29, pipe 28, tothe under side of diaphragm 28 in valve 8 and through the slightly openneedle valve 21 to the atmosphere. This pressure acts against the underside of the lower diaphragm 2B, forces yoke member l8 upward, thusclosing air inlet valve l1, and the supply of air from the air pressuresupply is shut off. The bleeding of air through valve 21 will lower theair pressure in tank 4 and beer will flow in until the float is raisedand valve 56 closed. The pressure then bleeds from under the lowerdiaphragm 20 of regulator valve 8 and since the lower diaphragm Zll hasa greater area than the upper diaphragm l9, the connecting yoke I8 isforced down and the air valve I! opened. Air will pass to the tank andequalize the beer pressure. Thereafter, the process is repeated.

By the use of this apparatus, the beer level can be maintained at adesired height within very close limits, and there is no foaming of thebeer in the bottle or in the passages and each bottle is filled to auniform height. Furthermore, it is possible to adjust the flow heightand consequently the height to which the bottle will be filled withoutdisturbing the operation of the machine. Due to the establishment ofcounterpressure in the filling tank immediately prior to the firstfilling of the tank, it is possible to obviate foaming and insure quietfilling of the first tank full of beer which is bottled. The mechanismis entirely automatic in operation and once pressure supply and beersupply are maintained even though the pressure of each may vary.Complicated control mechanism is avoided and by means of thiscomparatively simple apparatus, a greater output of properly filledbottles is obtained.

While I have illustrated and described the present preferred embodimentof my invention, as applied to apparatus for filling beer bottles, itwill be understood that it is by way of example only and that theinvention may be otherwise embodied or practiced within the scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for filling containers with a liquid under pressure, afilling tank into which the liquid is passed, means adjustable from theoutside of the machine for regulating the height of the liquid in thetank, means for supplying gas to the tank at a pressure which isdirectly responsive to the liquid pressure, and means connected to thetank having passages for the flow of gas and liquid to and from the tanksaid last mentioned means including a siphon operable by contact withthe container to be filled for siphoning the liquid from the tank intothe containers and for controlling the flow of gas between the tank andthe container.

2. In a machine for filling containers with a liquid under pressure, afilling tank into which the liquid is passed under varying pressures,means adjustable from the outside of the machine for regulating theheight of the liquid in the tank, means for admitting gas under pressureto the tank, means for maintaining the volume of the gas in the tanksubstantially constant and at a pressure which is directly responsive tothe liquid pressure, a filling head for filling the containers withliquid from the tank, said head being operable by movement of thecontainers into and out of the filling position and means connecting thetank and head into which the liquid can be siphoned from the tank intothe container.

3. In a machine for filling containers with a liquid under pressure, afilling tank into which the liquid is passed under varying pressures,means operated by the height of the liquid in the tank for controllingthe supply of liquid to the tank and the supply of counter-pressure gasto the tank, means for varying the counter-pressure as the pressure ofthe liquid varies, said means being so adapted that the volume of liquidand the volume of gas in the tank remain substantially constant, meansadjustable from outside of the machine for increasing or decreasing therelative volumes of liquid and gas in the tank and means operable bymovement of the containers into and out of filling position for firstadmitting gas from the filling tank into the container and thensiphoning the liquid from the filling tank to the container until thelevel of the liquid in the container is at the same level as the levelof the liquid in the tank and allowing the counter-pressure gas toreturn to the filling tank.

4. In a machine for filling containers with a liquid under pressure, afilling tank into which the liquid is passed under varying pressures,means adjustable from the outside of the machine for regulating theheight of liquid in the tank, means for regulating a supply of gas tothe tank at a pressure which is directly responsive to the liquidpressure, a filling head, a siphon connecting the tank and head, saidfilling head comadjusted, will operate indefinitely so long as airprising a container-filling tube, a diaphragm in the top of the fillinghead, a valve at the bottom of the tube movable by said diaphragm forcontrolling the flow of liquid through the siphon, the bottom of thediaphragm being connected to the siphon, a sleeve movable along the tubefor sealing the container and movable by the container, and meansoperated by the sleeve for controlling the flow of gas to and from thecontainer and the filling tank and to the top of the diaphragm.

5. In combination, a pressure filling tank containing gas and liquidunder pressure, a filling head connected thereto comprising a fillingtube, a siphon tube extending from the filling tube and into the tank, atube closing valve adjacent the discharge end of the filler tube, meansconnected to the valve member and operable by the liquid for closing thevalve, a sleeve surrounding the filling tube and movable therealong,said sleeve being movable by contact with the container to be filled,and a filler sleeve operable by movement of the sleeve for controllingmovement of the gas to and from the tank and the container to be filledand for controlling the opening of the tube closing valve.

6. A filling head for filling containers from a chamber containingliquid and gas under pressure comprising a filling tube, a tube closingvalve for closing the end of the filling tube, a siphon tube connectedto the filling tube, a sleeve surrounding the filling tube and movabletherealong by contact with the container to be filled, a flexiblediaphragm connected to the tube closing valve and means connected to thesiphon tube for exerting liquid pressure against one side of thediaphragm to cause the tube closing valve to close the end of thefilling tube, a gas passage, a filler valve operable by movement of thesleeve for controlling the movement of gas through said passage and tothe container and means connecting the other side of the flexiblediaphragm to the gas passage, said means being controlled by operationof the filler valve.

FRED A. FOUSER.

